Baby pebble dragon lucky to be alive after being caught in smuggling operation

The West Australian

Monday, 14 August 2017 12:25AM

The West Australian

Two six-month-old pebble dragons are currently being held at Perth Zoo.

This baby pebble dragon is lucky to be alive after its mother was rescued by Customs officers, who intercepted a wildlife-smuggling operation.

The mother, bound for the black market, laid eggs two days after being taken to Perth Zoo.

Now the baby is six months old and tips the scales at just 1.75g, although it has grown from a hatching weight of 0.41g.

The offspring were hatched to a female dragon which was amongst other reptiles seized in a wildlife smuggling operation, bound to be sold on the black market. Two days after her arrival at the Zoo the large female laid eggs.

Wildlife trafficking is a big problem globally. It is more common place than the general public realise.

Animals are regularly smuggled in false baggage compartments, strapped to human bodies, packed in postal tubes or illegally sold on the black market.

It’s run by sophisticated networks and consequently animals and body parts are trafficked much like illegal drugs and arms.

Second to habitat loss, it is the largest direct threat to many of the world’s most threatened wildlife.

Perth Zoo vets did 145 veterinary checks of confiscated reptiles on behalf of Parks and Wildlife and the Australian Customs Service in the past financial year, mostly snakes and lizards.

Pebble dragons live in Western Australia’s arid zones this small dragon species has a round body that resembles a stone and relies on its camouflage to remain invisible to predators.